Inflatable life rafts are typically packed in a buoyant container or canister and equipped with an automatic inflating device. Generally, a painter line is attached to the raft and connects the raft to the main vessel. In addition, during deployment the painter triggers a device to inflate the raft. The raft canister is thrown into the water from a vessel in distress and, after a predetermined length of the painter line has been pulled from the canister, the life raft inflates. Persons on the main vessel are expected to enter the water and make their way to the raft by swimming or grasping and pulling their way along the painter line.
Painter lines generally have a length in a range of 65 to 150 feet to allow sufficient line for the raft to stand clear of the deploying vessel for safety reasons, for example, if a dangerous condition such as a fire exists on the vessel. In addition, the length of painter line allows the raft to deploy and inflate on its own in the event the vessel sinks without adequate warning to permit launching the raft.
While a painter line will keep the raft tied to the vessel, the raft will frequently, from the effect of wind or waves, move away from the main vessel the fully extended length of the painter line, i.e., the 65 to 150 foot length. In rough water or strong winds, this distance can be extremely difficult to cross to reach the raft. A person in the water can attempt to grasp the painter line to pull toward the raft, but, in rough water, it is difficult to maintain hold of a line. In cold weather, the shock of entering the water and the cold that immediately attacks the hands and limbs may prevent a person from being able to grasp or pull the painter line at all.
Painter lines are attached to the vessel by a weak point or breakaway point to allow the raft to free itself from a sinking vessel. Should the weak point breakaway in rough water or high winds, the unconstrained raft may be blown away from the survivors, preventing them from ever reaching the raft and safety.
The present invention, generally, provides a safety device for an inflatable raft that links persons on a vessel to the raft before the raft is deployed, and allows the raft to be deployed in a conventional manner, so that the linked persons may reach the raft safely after entering the water.
The persons linked to the device are also linked to each other, which allows those able to assist, for example, infants, children, non-swimmers, or others having difficulty.
More particularly, the present invention provides an inflatable life raft having an automatic inflating device and a separate tether device to link persons to the life raft.
According to a preferred embodiment, the present invention provides an inflatable life raft safety apparatus that includes a hollow canister having a front end and an opposite rear end and an inflatable life raft contained within the canister. The inflatable life raft includes at least an inflatable flotation platform for carrying at least one occupant. The flotation platform comprises a buoyant member forming a periphery and a floor spanning an interior space bounded by the inflated peripheral buoyant member, the floor being supported by the peripheral member, and a stabilizing bag positionable below the flotation platform when inflated, the stabilizing bag having a plurality of openings to fill with water. A raft inflating device includes a painter line having a first end and a second end, the first end being attached to the flotation platform and the second end extending out of the first end of the canister attachable to a vessel, an intermediate point of the line attached to means for triggering a compressed gas source to inflate the life raft. The painter line has a predetermined length that is pulled from the canister before the compressed gas source is triggered.
According to an alternative embodiment of the invention, an additional trigger line is attached to the inflation trigger and extends to a handle accessible outside of the canister for manually triggering inflation of the raft. The additional trigger line is vital in, for example, situations where the painter line is somehow both fouled in the canister and tangled with a structure on the vessel, preventing the painter line from triggering the inflation means and preventing the release of the painter line from the attachment point on the vessel. In such a situation, the sinking vessel can take the canister and unopened life raft under. The additional trigger line can be used to inflate the raft, which opens the canister and free the painter line. The survivors can cut the painter line to free the raft from the vessel, or rely on the buoyancy of the raft to break the attachment point of the painter to the raft if the vessel begins to pull the raft under water.
A survival tether is attached to the flotation platform at a first end and has a free second end. The tether extends from a rear end of the canister, that is, the end opposite to the painter line end, and has a predetermined length that is storable internally or externally to the canister. The tether includes means for securing at least one person to the tether, such as adjustable loops to grasp a wrist or snap hooks to hook to a life jacket or survival suit. Upon deployment of the life raft, at least one person may be secured to the tether so that when the life raft inflates in the water, the person is linked to the life raft to maintain contact with the life raft when the person enters the water.
According to an alternative embodiment of the invention, the tether is also linked to the automatic inflation device to trigger inflation of the life raft by pulling the tether out of the canister, so that either the tether or the painter line will trigger the inflation device. The tether-actuated trigger is useful on vessel, such as motor-powered yachts, where there is little or no danger of a mast or fishing nets or other obstruction of the vessel damaging the inflated life raft, to permit actuation by the survivors on the tether.
According to a particular embodiment of the present invention, the means for securing a person to the tether includes a plurality of spaced apart adjustable loops attached along the tether for cinching about a body part of a person, for example, around a wrist or chest, to secure the person to the tether.
According to another aspect of the invention, a first loop is positioned from the first end of the tether a sufficient distance to provide a first portion of the tether of sufficient length to permit the canister to be deployed in the water while at least one person linked to the tether remains on the vessel. That is, the tether is sufficiently elongated so that the raft may be thrown in the water, clearing the freeboard of the main vessel, and inflated before the persons on the tether are forced to enter the water.
According to an alternative embodiment of the invention, the means for securing at least on person to the tether may also comprise a plurality of spaced apart snap hooks for attaching to a ring on a survival suit. According to yet another alternative, the securing means may comprise a safety harness to secure the person's body to the tether.
According to yet another aspect of the invention, the tether may be equipped with inflatable buoyant devices attached to the tether in conjunction with the linking means to support a person in the water.
According to still another aspect, the tether may include a lighting signal device attached to the elongated tether in conjunction with the linking means so that the position of the link, and the person attached to the link, may be signalled by a light.
The tether according to the present invention may also include a shark or fish repellent in a releasing device attached to the tether in conjunction with the linking means.
According to yet another aspect of the invention, an auxiliary supplies canister is attached to the tether to carry extra food, water, tools, or other equipment useful for surviving on a raft. Life rafts typically include a supply pack having rations for a few days. The supply pack is contained within the canister and is packed when the life raft is packed in the canister. The auxiliary canister provides storage for additional gear to augment the supply pack and may be packed for each trip. The auxiliary canister is formed to float and may also serve as a flotation device for a person linked to the tether.
Another aspect of the invention includes means extending from the tether for controlling a stabilizing bag attached beneath the flotation platform. The stabilizing bag includes a plurality of holes that allow the bag to fill with water when the raft is deployed, the mass of water in the bag stabilizing the raft against overturning in rough water or strong winds. The bag, however, is subject to water currents and will cause the raft to travel with the current. To allow the raft to float free of current, for example, to take advantage of winds blowing in a direction other than the current, the tether includes a control line extending from the tether below the stabilization bag and attached to the raft at a bottom portion of the bag, or on the flotation platform, or another convenient location, wherein lifting the control line forces water from the openings in the stabilizing bag allowing the bag to collapse against the bottom surface of the raft platform. The control line may be positioned through loops attached to the stabilization bag to maintain the control line in a desired position. The control line may conveniently comprise one or more branching lines to support the stabilization bag for lifting.
According to another aspect of the invention, the control line further comprises a webbing attached to the stabilizing bag to distribute upward force by the control line across a lower surface of the stabilizing bag to facilitate emptying water from the bag.
The bag may be partially emptied so that it is shaped as a keel beneath the raft. In this way, the raft can be "sailed" by allowing the raft canopy to act as a sail and the keel-shaped bag to act to steer the moving raft.